Natural Movement Class – with George Leoniak

Dates:Fridays, 8:30 – 9:30 am

Location:Winston Prouty Campus, 209 Austine Drive, Brattleboro, VT

Cost:$10 per class

Ages:Adults and older teens

The modern “movement diet” is fairly limited. We wake up, drive to work, sit down at work, maybe do an exercise routine at the gym, sit down again in the evening, lie down for the night, and then do it all over again!

In this class we’ll learn to enrich and diversify our movement diet. We’ll engage our whole bodies in a wide range of natural movements— improving our mobility, strength, and range of motion. We’ll learn to move like the animals we are!

Instructor George Leoniak is one of the country’s foremost animal trackers. His teaching draws from his long-time studies of animal gaits and movements, as well as his many years of training his own body in natural movement. See www.mindfultracker.com to learn more about George.

All levels of experience and fitness are welcome! The class will allow each of us to choose the right level of challenge and/or comfort for our body on any given day.

What will a typical class include?

We’ll start with a grounding exercise that improves body awareness and alignment. This sequence of twenty movements inspired by twenty different animal forms is done standing in place. The 10-minute sequence can be easily integrated into your home mindfulness and/or movement practice.

We’ll then stretch to warm up all our joints, followed by some strength-building routines (leg lifts, pushups, squats, lunges, etc.) to get the blood moving.

The next half hour will be an opportunity to get more active. We’ll move around the lawns and forest trails trying out different movements, such as crawling, climbing, scampering, vaulting over logs, balance walking on fallen logs, learning different animal movement gaits, and more.

At the end of the hour we’ll spend 5 minutes cooling down and re-centering. The class ends at 9:00, but if you are inspired to stay and continue exploring the woods, you are welcome to!

Directions and Parking:

This class will take place outside, at the Winston Prouty Campus, 209 Austine Drive, Brattleboro, VT.

Park in the lower lot (the first lot on the left after you enter the campus).

When the weather is too cold, rainy, or snowy to meet outside, we’ll meet indoors in the large room on the east side of Croker Hall. (Park in the lower lot, and walk up the long sidewalk following the “Vermont Wilderness School” signs.). However, our goal is to be outside as many weeks of the year as we can!

What to bring:

Comfortable non-restrictive clothing. Lightweight shoes. (Any barefoot participation in the outdoor classes is at your own risk!) Water bottle. In cold, rain, and snow, we will always spend at least part of the class outside, so bring appropriate winter gear. (boots, gloves, rain or snowpants, etc.)